Tour de Corse: Kronos Racing final summary

Victory for Loeb and hope for Sordo...
Just two weeks after the RallyRACC Catalunya, it's a case of deja-vu for
the Kronos team. The squad finishes the sequence of asphalt events at
the start of the year with two victories in two rallies. Once...

Victory for Loeb and hope for Sordo...

Just two weeks after the RallyRACC Catalunya, it's a case of deja-vu for
the Kronos team. The squad finishes the sequence of asphalt events at
the start of the year with two victories in two rallies. Once more there
are two Xsara WRCs on the podium. And in Corsica, there are three Xsaras
in the top six.

Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena notched up the 23rd win of their career
against a Marcus Gronholm who was on fighting form. Seb explained : "In
Catalunya, my choice of set-up at the start of the rally was hardly
ideal and then Marcus hit problems. This time we both had a clean run.
The Xsara and its BFGoodrich tyres were extremely competitive, the
team was faultless and we were able to bring home a victory that was
extremely important to us. In Corsica, in front of all our fans, on an
event I love, which is the Rally de France ! In the short term, this
is a valuable win as it gives me a lead of more than 10 points in the
driver's championship. This means I have some breathing space, which
is useful as the gravel rallies coming up will be extremely tough.
Looking further ahead, this 23rd win takes me close to Carlos Sainz's
record which is obviously a big thing for me... " The same will to win
inspires Daniel Elena, who is now only one victory away from the record
of co-driver wins held by Luis Moya.

Xevi Pons and Carlos Del Barrio were also at the forefront, but less
often than their team mates. Some minor brake problems on Friday and
a small `off' on Saturday did not entirely help the crew regain their
confidence, which had taken a bit of a knock in Catalunya. " After
two retirements, it was vital for me to finish the rally, " said the
Spaniard. " Notwithstanding the fact that the potential of the Xsara on
asphalt is capable of targeting some big points in the manufacturers'
championship. When I realised that I would not be able to catch Alex
[Bengue], I concentrated on the five points that I would definitely be
able to score for the team... "

In Catalunya, Dani Sordo passed an important threshold with a podium
after three rallies of learning his trade at the wheel of a World Rally
Car. As a bonus, he even set a fastest time. In Corsica, the young
Spaniard had to confirm his performance. Unflustered by an electronic
problem that held him back on Friday morning, the reigning Junior World
Champion rose perfectly to the challenge. By finishing third he secures
another podium, having set two more fastest times. " Losing some time
at the start of the rally gave us a certain advantage, as it meant that
we needed to push hard from the beginning, " said Dani. " We enjoyed
ourselves from start to finish, in a fantastic fight with Alex [Bengue]
and then Mikko [Hirvonen]. Now it's back to school again on gravel. In
Argentina, our goal will be to learn. "

For Marc Van Dalen and Jean-Pierre Mondron, the bosses of Kronos Racing,
the dream continues. " To take three wins in three rallies is fantastic,
" said Marc. "To have three cars in the top six is also means a lot
to us, as it underlines the quality of our team's work. Each one of
our crews has performed faultlessly. Seb remains the king on asphalt,
Dani confirmed what we all knew anyway and Xevi has brought us vital
manufacturer points, which enables us to maintain the lead of the
championship. It's been a perfect weekend ! "